


silver on his arm and death in his eyes

by finx



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tale Style, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:36:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finx/pseuds/finx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The man who calls himself James is walking alone, and he walks and he walks until he comes to a place he once knew. It is empty now, strewn with corpses, and at their center stands a woman with blood in her hair and winter in her eyes. She holds out her hand to him and says nothing at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	silver on his arm and death in his eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on [The Death of Koshchei the Deathless](http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=lang&book=red&story=death), which I read and could not get out of my head.

The man who calls himself James is walking alone when the skies darken and the wind picks up. He casts about for a place to shelter out of the storm, but before he can find one an eagle alights at his feet and springs up into the shape of a man. The man wears a star on his breast and the sea in his eyes, and he holds out his hand to James and says “You are loved. Come with me, and I can give you a home.”

James looks at the man, and at the star on his breast and the sea in his eyes, and he says no. No, home is not for the likes of me.

The man who calls himself James is walking alone when the sky darkens and the wind picks up. He casts about for a place to take shelter from the storm, but before he can find one a falcon alights at his feet and springs up into the shape of a man. The man wears the sky on his shoulders and the sun in his eyes, and he holds out his hand and says “You are missed. Come with me, and I can give you peace.”

James looks at the man, and at the sky on his shoulders and the sun in his eyes, and he says no. No, peace is not for the likes of me.

The man who calls himself James is walking alone when the sky darkens and the wind picks up. He casts about for a place to take shelter from the storm, but before he can find one a raven alights at his feet and springs up into the shape of a man. The man has shadows at his fingertips and the night over one eye, and he holds out his hand and says “You are lost. Come with me, and I can give you safety.”

James looks at the man, and at the shadows on his fingers and the night over his eye, and he says no. No, safety is not for the likes of me.

 *

The man who calls himself James is walking alone, and he walks and he walks until he comes to a place he once knew. He does not recognize it, but he remembers it as a place of suffering and fear. It is empty now, strewn with corpses, and at their center stands a woman with blood in her hair and winter in her eyes. She holds out her hand to him and says nothing at all.

James looks at the woman, and at the blood in her hair and the winter in her eyes, and he takes her hand.

*

The woman’s name is Natasha, or Natalia, and the man who calls himself James could not say which name cuts deeper. She takes him to a quiet place. James thinks that maybe, here, he could stop walking, and the storm would not find him.

Natasha, or Natalia, tells him that she cannot stay; she has many battles left to fight. She promises that she will return, but before she leaves she says to James, “There are doors here that are locked to you, and behind every door is the same thing. You must not open them until I return, lest you be lost to me and I to you.”

When she is gone, James prowls restlessly, and thinks the storm will surely come for him after all. Though he tries to heed Natalia’s words, in the end he is too restless, or too alone, and he unlocks a heavy door and pulls it open.

On the other side he finds a monster, with silver on his arm and death in his eyes, and his face is a mirror for James’ own. He is shackled to a metal chair, and he is begging to be let free.

James says to the monster, “I cannot set you free. Natalia would not wish it.”

“I am so lonely,” the monster cries. “Only touch me, look into my eyes, that I might not be so afraid.”

James pities the monster, for he knows what it is to be afraid. He places his hand over the monster’s heart and looks into the monster’s eyes.

With a snap like frost cracking underfoot, the monster breaks free of the chair, and the world goes black.

*

When the man who calls himself James awakens he is in an unfamiliar place, and there is a weapon cradled in his arms. Natasha stands before him, trapped behind bars, and the winter in her eyes is colder than he has ever seen.

“How did you come to be here?” he asks of her. “How did I come to be here?”

Natasha narrows her eyes at him, and they glitter with ice. “Did you open the locked doors that I told you to leave closed?”

“Yes,” James admits, and hangs his head in shame. “There was a monster behind the door. I took pity on him and he broke free. Was he the one who brought you here?”

“Yes,” says Natasha.

“I am sorry,” James says, and releases Natasha from her prison. Together they flee into the night. They run through dark forests heavy with snow, and the moon shines silver on the asphalt under their racing feet.

They have not been running long before James hears the monster approaching. He tells Natasha, who answers, “I can summon the eagle, or the falcon, or the raven, and they will help us.”

But James tells her no. No, they will only bring the storm.

So they run on alone, but the monster is too fast, and soon the world goes black once more.

*

Again the man called James awakens in an unfamiliar place, and again Natasha is there, imprisoned. “How did you come to be here?” he asks of her. “Did the monster bring you here?”

“Yes,” says Natasha.

“How did I come to be here?”

This, Natasha does not answer, saying only “Have you come to rescue me again?”

“Yes,” James says, and releases her from her bonds. Together they flee into the night. They run along the curves of a frozen river, neither of them stepping onto the thin ice that muffles the swirling darkness below.

They have not been running long before James hears the monster approaching. He tells Natasha, who answers, “I can summon the eagle, or the falcon, or the raven, and they will help us.”

But James tells her no. No, they will only bring the storm.

So they run on alone, but the monster is too fast, and soon the world goes black once more.

*

A third time the man called James awakens in an unfamiliar place, with a weapon in his arms and Natasha imprisoned before him. Again he rescues her, and again they flee together into the night. They run between crumbling buildings and yellow street lamps, the sidewalks slick with snowmelt and cracked with neglect.

Again they have not been running long before James hears the monster approaching. He tells Natasha, who answers, “I can summon the eagle, or the falcon, or the raven, and they will help us.”

James looks at Natasha, and at the blood in her hair and the winter in her eyes and the patience of her question, and he says yes. Yes, let them come.

Natasha leads him to a place with bright lights and people, and James bares his teeth and clings close to her shadow. She finds what she needs to summon the eagle, and the falcon, and the raven, and her voice is sharp and precise as she does. James can barely hear her over the thunder in his ears from the monster’s approach. He tries to warn Natasha, or to run, or to hide in her shadow, but the monster is too fast, and the world goes black once more.

*

This time when the man who calls himself James awakens in an unfamiliar place, Natasha is with him but she is not imprisoned. She says to him, “I summoned the raven, and he gave me a place where you will be safe.”

James gets up and walks about the building they are in, and sees it is isolated and secure against outside threats.

Natasha says to him, “I summoned the falcon, and he gave me a tonic that will help you find peace.”

She hands him a small bottle, on which is written _one capful daily._ James regards it with suspicion, but Natasha assures him, “It will not render you unconscious, only leave you calm. The falcon says it is only a beginning, and he will help you when you are ready for more.”

With shaking hands James drinks one capful of the tonic. It does not render him unconscious, or make him feel sick.

Natasha says to him, “I summoned the eagle, and he gave me a number for you to call when you are ready to go home.”

Natasha hands him a piece of paper. James takes it carefully and stares at the numbers written upon it until they are burned into his heart. Then he tucks the paper gently into the pocket of his jacket.

 *

In the dark of the night, when all is silent and Natasha lies sleeping at James’ side, the monster comes.

“Please,” the monster begs. “I am so afraid. Are you not afraid?”

“Yes,” says James, “I am afraid.”

“Then run with me,” the monster cries. “Run away, run away, where the storm will never reach.”

“No,” says James. “This place is safe from the storm.”

The monster sneers. “Because Natalia said it would be so? You cannot trust her. She has no true face, only masks.”

James looks at the woman sleeping beside him, and runs his hand through the blood of her hair. “She has given me safety, and peace, and home. I can try to give her trust, in return.”

“No,” the monster shrieks. “I am afraid, and I am alone. We must run away!”

The world almost goes black again, but this time James has his fingers in Natasha’s hair and his hand over the beating of his own heart. The monster howls in rage and anguish and James trembles from the force of it, but his eyes stay clear.

“Please,” the monster begs. “I am so lonely.”

James holds out his hand to the monster and says, “You are forgiven. Come with me, and I can give you freedom.”

The monster looks at James, and at the beating of his heart and the life in his eyes, and the monster takes his hand.


End file.
